


Why is the Pool in the Library?

by Chloe_Hallow_Eve



Series: Black Paladin Lance [18]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bilingual Lance (Voltron), Black Paladin Lance (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Fluff, Lance (Voltron)-centric, Post-Season/Series 02 (Voltron), Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-18
Updated: 2017-05-18
Packaged: 2018-11-02 02:21:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10934979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chloe_Hallow_Eve/pseuds/Chloe_Hallow_Eve
Summary: Lance can't understand most of what's on the ship. He decides to learn Altean instead of have Allura or Coran constantly translate for him.Alternately Titled: I'm Already Going Full 'Doctor Who' On The Timeline, Why Not Make Some Referances While At It?





	Why is the Pool in the Library?

It was with heavy lids and lead feet that Lance approached Coran. He muffled a yawn with the back of his hand, fighting his exhaustion. He had been forced to admit that he couldn’t read any of the records about Galran history, since they were all in Altean. After days of trying to find a way around it, Lance gave up. He’d have to find another solution. 

 

Coran looked up from his typing when he noticed Lance approaching. 

 

“Good morrow, my boy! What can I do for you?”

 

Lance stifled another yawn, but it still came through his speech. “Is there a library or something? And then some books on how to lean Altean?”

 

Coran hummed, twirling his moustache, eyeing the bruises under Lance’s wandering gaze. “There is a program in the castle for beginner level Altean. Though I feel that you need a bed more than a lesson.”

 

“Pidge told me about the program. And how it tried to kill them. So, yeah, no thanks.” Lance stretched, voice straining with his muscles. “And I'll sleep after I find the books I need.”

 

“There is a library. You should have seen the doors to it when you were at the pool.”

 

“The upside down pool we couldn't figure out how to swim in?”

 

Coran chuckled. “Precisely. If you go back down to the pool, then walk out the main doors, you'll be in the library. It surrounds the pool on all sides, and is quite impressive.”

 

Lance stared at Coran. “Why is the pool in the library?”

 

“No idea!” Coran smiled at Lance, patting his shoulder. “There should be a couple common to Altean translator books, as well as some different levelled lesson books. There is a computer where you search for what you need, and it will lead you to that book! You should be able to find everything you need.”

 

“Cool. Thanks, Coran.” Lance waved, stumbling away. 

 

Coran watched him for a moment, then sighed, closing his work. “Hold up, Lance! I have something I need from the library, now that I think of it. Mind if I join you?”

 

“Nah man, let's make a party of it.”

 

“I'm fairly sure if you try to dance in this state you’ll fall right over. Like a twig.” 

 

“That is besides the point.”

 

* * *

Lance watched Coran tap away at the computer, bemused. The tech didn't look all that different from the computers you'd find in a Chapters. Except it was only the screens with no computers attached. And all of the words were in Altean. 

 

After a moment, Coran let out a triumphant laugh, turning to Lance. “Good news, the systems still work. Even better news, the books you need are fairly close to this spot!”

 

“Cool.” Lance gave Coran a thumbs up and a tired smile. “So where is ‘fairly close’?”

 

Coran bounded down one of the many aisles of bookshelves. The library wouldn’t be that much bigger than the training room, if you ignored the pool. But it was packed full with books, which was fairly impressive. Lance wondered how the books were organized. Alphabetical seemed most logical, but Lance wasn’t sure how the Altean alphabet worked yet, so he couldn’t be sure. 

 

Coran came back, plopped the books down on the table in the clearing Lance stood in, and clapped. “There we are! All books alluding to the Altean language.”

 

Lance came over. “Thanks, Coran. This is a big help.”

 

Coran beamed at him, clasping a hand over his shoulder. “It’s no trouble. If you need any more help on anything, don’t hesitate to ask!”

 

Lance grinned. “I won’t.”

 

“Well then, I’ll be off. Good luck!” Coran strode out of the room, long strides quick. Lance watched him leave, brows slowly drawing together. 

 

“Didn’t he need a book…?” Lance looked down at the books on the table. “Eh, he’ll come back if it’s important.”

 

Lance pulled out a chair, grabbed the first book in the pile, and started reading. 

 

* * *

As it turned out, the Altean alphabet was more like the Japanese one in the way they both had sounds for each symbol instead of individual letters. Which meant it would take a lot more effort to learn then Lance originally thought. 

 

Lance leaned back in his seat, rubbed his face, and groaned. Alteans sure liked their ‘q’s. And there were exceptions to some of the words. I.E., instead of using one of the sounds that began with ‘c’, you’d trade it out for ‘ck’. The same for ‘f’ sounding symbols and ‘ph’. The only saving grace was that the vowels and some continents  had their own symbols. 

 

There was a small squeak. Lance took his hands away from his face. The mice were all standing in the sea of books, glancing at them curiously before looking back up at Lance. Lance felt his mouth twitch upwards, reaching out to scratch each of them between their ears in greeting. The bluish-green mouse tried to bite his finger when he did. 

 

“Hey, guys. What are you doing here?”

 

The small blue one eyed the alphabet, looked up at Lance, then scampered onto the book. It examined each symbol carefully before standing on the one that had ‘chu’. Then, after a pause, in which Lance was bemused but amused, it hopped over to ‘la’, then jumped twice on the ‘t’. Lance stared. 

 

“Chu...latt?” Lance raised a brow. “Does that mean mice?”

 

The blue mouse shook its head. The pink one followed it on the paper, sitting on ‘chu’ for a moment before jumping up, landing back on ‘chu’. It finished by sitting on ‘le’ next. 

 

Lance's eyes widened. “Wait, are these your names?”

 

The mice chittered excitedly. 

 

“Okay, so,” Lance pointed at the small blue one, “you’re Chulatt,” he pointed next at the pink one, “and you’re Chuchule?”

 

There was another round of squeaks. The big yellow and green one hopped up next, going from the ‘pla’ to the ‘t’, jumping in the same manner Chulatt had. 

 

“Pla…tt?”

 

Platt nodded. They all looked to the bluish green one, staring until it huffed and stood on the ‘pla’, then the ‘chu’.

 

“Plachu.”

 

Plachu didn’t protest. Lance grinned down at them. 

 

“Okay, review. Plachu, Chuchule, Platt, and Chulatt.” Each mouse nodded as Lance pointed to them. “Cool. Wait, do you guys know Altean because of your mind link to Allura?”

 

None of them confirmed or denied. It seemed even the mice didn't know. 

 

“Well, that's fine. Wanna help me study?”

 

Plachu ran over to one of his hands, patting it with their little paws and squeaking. Lance grinned, turning his hand over and offering Plachu a finger to grasp. 

 

“Let's start with a basic thing. When spelling my name, would I use ‘la’, ‘ne’ and ‘ce’, or ‘la’, ‘na’ and ‘ce’?”

 

* * *

Allura frowned down at her controls, eyebrows drawn together. Lance hadn't been at lunch. Coran had told them not to worry, but Allura couldn't help it. With all that had happened as of late, she had been worrying more than not. She was surprised she wasn’t wrinkly at this point. With a sigh, she brought up the defenses. 

 

There was a squeak at her feet. Allura brightened, crouching and looking down at the small creatures tugging at her dress. She rubbed their cheeks in greeting. 

 

“Hello, what are you doing up here?” 

 

Plachu mimed for her while simultaneously sending her messages through their mental link. 

 

Allura blinked. “Why is Lance in the library? Is he alright?”

 

The mice ran to the door, looking back at her. Allura quickly followed. The mice didn’t seem worried, but Allura still quickened her pace when she realized they were heading towards the library. The wait for the elevator to reach the pool wracked her nerves, making it so when the doors open she was out and reaching for the double doors to the library in a tick. She took a moment to regain her composure before entering the room. 

 

Allura had to pause when she saw Lance, sprawled out amongst many books, asleep. He was bent at an odd angle, face pillowed in his arms. Allura felt a fond smile creep its way onto her lips. She walked forward slowly, cautious of waking Lance, sliding one of the open books towards herself and examining the page. 

 

She blinked when she recognised the Altean. The specific page she was on had colour samples, as well as the Altean word for each under it. Allura glanced at the others, amazed to see they were all simple teaching books. She looked back at Lance. He had never expressed any interest in learning Altean before. Though it stumped her, Allura felt a warmth spread when she thought of teaching her native tongue to Lance, and being able to speak it freely once more. 

 

Allura gently placed a hand on Lance’s shoulder, shaking. “Lance, you cannot sleep here, I am afraid to say.”

 

Lance’s eyes fluttered open, slowly focusing to the world around him. When they did, he sat up, sniffed, and rubbed his face. “God, the table isn’t comfortable.”

 

Allura chuckled. “I’d imagine not.” 

 

Lance looked up at her, eyebrows furrowing. “What are you doing here, princess?”

 

“The mice lead me.” Allura motioned to said creatures, who stood around her feet. “I imagine so that I can lead you to an actual resting place.”

 

“How about a grave?” Lance joked, then frowned. “That wasn’t funny. Sorry.”

 

“I’m sure someone else would have found amusement out of it.” She helped Lance out of his seat, frowning at the deep bag under his eyes. “When is the last time you slept?”

 

“Uh. Three nights ago?” Lance rubbed his face again. “Maybe two. Can’t remember. The days and nights start to blur together after a certain point.”

 

“How have you been able to study an entire language in this state?” 

 

“I’m talented.”

 

Allura rolled her eyes. “Come on. If you don’t walk to bed, I’ll carry you. And make it as humiliating as possible.”

 

Lance snorted. “There’s no way in hell you could make me ashamed to have you carry me.” He walked anyways, stumbling his way to the door. “You could carry me either way. Just a thought.”

 

Allura hip checked him. 

 

* * *

Hunk was the one to find Lance in the library next, a couple days later. The mice had run up to him, tugged at his pants, then ran away. Hunk had blinked a couple of times before shrugging and following. When he walked through the pool room out to the library (why was the pool in the library? Or was it ‘why is the library outside of the pool’?), he didn’t expect to find Lance struggling under a pile of books, a bookshelf having tipped over. Thankfully, the bookshelf had landed on the one next to it without causing a domino effect. 

 

“Lance!” Hunk had rushed over and quickly pulled him out. “Are you okay? What were you doing? Were you trying to climb the bookshelf and almost crushed yourself again?”

 

Lance batted at his face. “Calm down, big guy. I’m fine. A little banged up, but nothing too bad. I was trying to get,” Lance pulled a book out of the pile, “this book. Glad I didn’t ruin it.”

 

“What is with you and using unsafe methods to get books?”

 

“Safe is boring.” Lance grinned while Hunk sighed. “Thanks for helping me out, big guy. I’ll clean this up later. You go relax.”

 

Hunk paused. “What are you even doing down here?”

 

“I’m teaching myself Altean.” Lance held up the book. “I just started on conjugation. It’s supposed to be really complex, but given what the alphabet is like, I’m not surprised.”

 

“Oh.” Hunk glanced between the book in Lance’s hand and the others on the table. “Do you, uh, need help?”

 

“Nah. Allura and Coran have been popping random questions enough already, and helping me with pronunciation. So I’m good there. Do you wanna learn too?”

 

“No thanks. Three languages are enough for me.” Hunk pushed the bookshelf upright, grunting. “I’ll go make you a snack. Be safe until I get back, kay?”

 

Lance saluted him. “Gotcha, Sir Garrett. I’ll stay out of trouble.” 

 

Hunk snorted, walking towards the door. He paused halfway out, turning back to Lance. “One last thing.”

 

Lance, who had sat down, turned to him. “Yeah?”

 

“Why is the pool in the library? And why is the pool upside down?”

 

* * *

Pidge had wandered down to the library themselves. They had asked Coran for directions, hoping to get some books on alien cultures. Instead, they were greeted by the sight of Lance leaning over a book, face so close Pidge wasn’t sure if he was reading it or trying to faze into it, one hand scribbling into a notebook beside him and the other feeding a spoonful of food goo to the mice. They stared for a few moments before plopping into the seat across from Lance. 

 

Lance jumped, dropping the spoon, not that the mice minded. He blinked owlishly at Pidge. “Oh, hey, Pidgeotto. What’s up?”

 

Pidge raised a brow. “What’s up with you?”

 

Lance shrugged, rubbing an eye. “You know, studying. I don’t remember it being this grueling.”

 

“That’s because you never studied.”

 

“ Touché .” 

 

Pidge scooted closer, taking one of the books and spinning it to face them. They squinted at the text, adjusting their glasses. “Are you teaching yourself Altean?”

 

“Yeah, it was tricky at first, but after a while-”

 

“And you didn’t invite me?” Pidge glared. 

 

Lance leaned away, lips pressed thin. “... Want me to teach you the basics?”

 

“Duh.” Pidge yanked the notebook out from under Lance’s hand, flipping to a new page and stealing his pencil. “You are reviewing everything you know up to this point by teaching me.”

 

“Okay, um, well the first thing is the alphabet. It’s a complex piece of shit. You’ll see.”

 

* * *

Keith had been sent down to the library to force Lance to go to bed. Keith wasn’t sure how well he’d do compared to the others, but everyone was insistent that they had all gone down and done so already. So, it was Keith’s turn.

 

Keith had gone down with slight trepidation. He really couldn’t handle Lance if he decided to be an ass today. The training bot had broken down while he was using it, the food hose hadn’t been particularly cooperative with him, and no one was anywhere close to finding Shiro. Keith felt two seconds away from blowing up on the next person to breathe in his vacinity. 

 

Which would, coincidentally, be Lance. 

 

Keith stormed through the pool room, flung open the doors, then paused. He had expected to see a hallway. No one had told him the doors would lead directly to the library. Keith hesitantly took a step. Yes, the pool was most definitely a room inside a room. Keith stared at the walls, eyebrows furrowed, mouth turning down. 

 

After a few moments, he tore his attention away from the architectural design. He looked next to the table, and sure enough, Lance was there. But he wasn’t awake. He was leaned back in his chair, head tilted back and mouth gaping. Keith stared for a few moments before taking the seat across from him. He was uncomfortable waking someone up, and Lance couldn’t bother him if he was sleeping. So, he instead crossed his arms and looked back at the walls, trying to figure out why someone would put an upside down pool in a library. 

 

Lance woke with a snort, jolting upright. He blinked around, confusion clouding his thoughts for a few moments. He looked at Keith, who was staring back at him with wide eyes, and blinked slowly. 

 

“How long have I been out?” He mumbled. 

 

“Uh. A while.” Keith’s eyes were drawn to Lance’s sleep-mussed hair. “I’ve only been here for, like, ten minutes.”

 

“Dude, why didn’t you just wake me up?”

 

Keith shrugged. 

 

Lance flopped forward, sighing. “What time is it?”

 

“Bed time.”

 

Lance stretched his hands forward, invading Keith’s personal space. He patted at Keith’s arms. “That’s a good idea. You should give me a piggy back ride. That is a thing you totally want to do.”

 

“No, I don’t.”

 

“Yes, you do.”

 

“I so don’t.”

 

“You so do.”

 

“If I do it, will you leave me alone tomorrow?”

 

Lance paused. “Hm. No promises. But I’ll try.”

 

Keith sighed, but stood up and moved around the table. “You better. If you don’t, you’ll owe me.”

 

Lance smirked, quirking a brow. His cool guy act was interrupted by a yawn. “Like what?”

 

_ A kiss,  _ Keith’s mind helpfully supplied. “I’ll think of something.” Is what he said, turning so Lance wouldn’t see the dark blush beginning to make it’s way up his neck. 

 

Keith crouched, readying his arms. Lance dropped his entire weight onto Keith, who let out a breath and almost fell over. 

 

“You are an ass.”

 

“Guilty.” Lance giggled. “Now take me to my quarters, peasant. I must get my beauty rest.”

 

“What beauty is there to gain?” Keith snapped, not unkindly. He slowly stood, surprised that Lance wasn’t that heavy, and started walking. 

 

“Awe, are you saying there’s no possible way for me to get more pretty because I’m already gorgeous? How nice!”

 

“Sure, that’s totally what I meant.” 

 

“Shut your sarcastic quiznak.”

 

Keith huffed, mouth twitching. He made his way to Lance’s room, repelling the occasional quip, before finally being able to fling Lance onto the bed. Lance went down with a high pitched yelp, bouncing once before settling into the mattress. 

 

“Keith! I could have died! You could have killed me!”

 

“You’re thick skull would have caught your fall for you, don’t worry.”

 

Lance’s face twitched in the struggle to come up with a response. He eventually settled for sticking his tongue out at Keith. Keith snorted, heading for the door. 

 

“Go to bed, Lance. Your face is taking the brunt of your insomnia.” 

 

Keith left, smirking when he heard Lance’s shouts fade. At least he wasn’t too bad this time. 

 

_ He wasn’t too bad looking when sleepy either.  _

 

Keith smacked himself in the forehead.

 

* * *

Lance was on one side of a window, watching with his hands pressed to the glass as Earth burned. The door was locked. The vents were closed, due to the poisonous gas that had been unleashed in the castle. It didn’t do much to prevent Lance from choking on it. The Glara were invading, taking the lions. Lance could hear Blue and Black screaming. He could hear the people on Earth screaming. He could hear his team screaming. 

 

They all screamed the same thing. 

 

“ _ Why didn’t you save us? _ ” They cried. “ _ You’re the leader. Why isn’t this you? Why aren’t you the one burning? Why are we paying for your mistakes? _ ”

 

Lance rolled over, falling off of the bed, gasping for breath. His lungs burned. His eyes watered. He coughed a few times, placing his head on the floor, ignoring the bruises that would form on his knees and elbows. He took a few steady breaths before pushing himself up to standing. 

 

When Lance opened his door, the mice were there, squeaking softly at him. Lance bent down, offering his cupped hands to them, and the mice scampered into them. He stood, walking carefully down the hall. 

 

“Ready to keep me company all night?” He said, smiling when they squeaked with confirmations. “That’s good. I’ll be pulling another two-dayer, I think. Time to screw myself over more than I already have and die a little on the inside!”

 

The mice nuzzled his hands. Lance huffed. 

 

“Sorry. Just… don’t tell Allura, okay?” He pressed the elevator button with his shoulder. “I don’t want her to know. She’d only worry.”

 

Plachu gave him a sarcastic look that could rival Pidge’s. 

 

“Okay, yeah, I know this is bad, alright?” Lance sighed. “I’ll try harder next time. Honest. But for now… can we just study?”

 

The mice exchanged glances, then nodded. Lance smiled. Sometimes, it felt like the only ones that understood him were the mice. 

  
Lance wondered if that was a bad sign. 

**Author's Note:**

> This fluffy part of the series is brought to you by BlueBoiii, who allowed me to use some of their amazing headcannons in this. Thank you so much BlueBoiii!
> 
> I personally think Hunk can speak English, Samoan, and French. English and Samoan because of heritage. French because of school. 
> 
> Thank you all so so so so so so SO much for all the comments, bookmarks, and kudos! I absolutely adore you all! Thank you so much for your support, stay amazing, and I will see you Sunday~!!!


End file.
